The present invention relates to an extruded flavor and color carrier particle which is edible and to a method for making the edible flavor and color carrier.
Particulate food products, having use as food analogs such as fruit analogs, have been made and used for several decades. One type of particulate food analog is prepared from a sugar-based formulation and is boiled as a candy. The formulation includes an elevated concentration of sucrose, flour, grits, a fat such as vegetable oil, coloring and flavoring. The step of boiling this food analog crystallizes the sugar, thereby rendering the food analog rigid. Further processing of this food analog, such as breaking the product into pieces generates significant fines which impacts the overall efficiency of this particular type of process.
When this type of food particulate is added to a dough or batter and then baked, the food particulate analog cannot withstand extended mixing of the batter or baking of the dough or batter. What occurs during mixing and baking is that a significant portion of the particulate disintegrates and xe2x80x9cbleeds outxe2x80x9d color that may have been added to the particulate. This feature of the particulate food analog is undesirable because the excessive xe2x80x9cbleeding outxe2x80x9d does not simulate the performance of the fresh or dehydrated food article. It is the fines that produces the xe2x80x9cbleeding out.xe2x80x9d The fines then substantially instantly dissolve upon mixing with dough or batter. Larger particles do not dissolve at this stage.
The larger particles do not retain their integrity during a baking or cooking process. The large particles dissolve, producing large holes in the end product. As a consequence, the final product is also undesirable.
These features are inconsistent with features of the food being simulated. One other problem with sugar-based particulate food analogs is that the analogs do not lend themselves to a uniform particle size when produced in bulk because the particles fracture. Specifically, it has not been possible to produce a particle of a preselected size without also producing a high percentage of fines. In addition to fines, manufacture has produced a wide, unacceptable variance of sizes in types of the product.
In one other production method, a food analog particulate is produced with a high fat content. The food is not generally regarded as wholly satisfactory because, typically, a high fat food is not preferred by consumers. The high fat food analog is made by pressing a high fat mixture through a sieve to make an individual particulate product. Size uniformity of the particulate product is better achieved through this type of pressing process. However, the particulate food pieces are high in fat and caloric content and do not maintain their integrity when they are added to a batter or dough, are mixed and then are cooked or baked. Because the food analog particles have a high fat content, the particles do not withstand ambient temperatures during storage. As a consequence, these food particles require special storage, such as refrigeration which is expensive and is not always available.
Moreover, the high fat particles do not carry added flavors or colors very well. Due to the high fat content of the particles, the particles do not retain their discrete particle integrity when added to a dough or batter because of the thermal conditions required to bake the dough or batter. These high temperature conditions may occur during processes such as molding and proofing. As a consequence, a finished baked good that contains the high fat particulates is comprised of color stains and holes where the high fat piece once existed but melted from the thermal conditions.
One embodiment of the present invention includes an edible carrier for color or for flavor or for color and flavor. The edible carrier includes ingredients which have been tempered by cold extrusion that comprise a sugar such as sucrose in a concentration of at least about 30% by weight, a bulking agent such as flour, a particulate material such as corn cereal, corn flakes, corn grits, rolled oats, rice flakes or potatoes, or a fiber like HK-15 wheat fiber concentrate manufactured by Cereal Ingredients of Kansas City, Mo., or a mixture of the particulates and a color and/or flavoring agent. The edible carrier forms a small gummy spot when baked an end- product application. The edible carrier has a soft bite.
One other embodiment of the present invention includes a method for making an edible flavor and color particulate carrier. The method includes preparing a mixture of sugar such as sucrose in a concentration of at least about 30 to 65% by weight, flour in a concentration of about 10 to 50% by weight, a particulate such as corn flakes, corn cereal, rolled oats, rice flakes or potatoes or a mixture of the particulates in a concentration of about 10 to 30% by weight, and flavoring and color in addition to a vegetable oil in a concentration of about 0 to 5% by weight. The mixture is extruded without an addition of exogenous heat in order to form a particle. The temperature of extrusion is well below a crystallization point of the sugar which is about 240xc2x0 F.